This back to basics approach consists of 4 'R''s: rant, reality, revelation and reward.

** Rant.

It's good to get stuff off your chest. As the saying goes, "A problem shared, is a problem halved."

The real issue arises when negative ranting outweighs finding solutions to your dilemma.

Later on, we are going to work through the four steps to turn a rant into strategies to create positive change.

Some favorite rants include: not being paid enough, the perception of being treated unfairly and feeling overworked and not getting along with colleagues.

Let's use this last one as our example.

Say you're ranting that Becky isn't nice to you, Morris doesn't want to co-operate with you on team projects and Ian has given you feedback that you have an inflexible work attitude.

If your rant begins with, "They all..." OR "How come they only ever pick on me and no one else?" then the answer is clear! Can you see it?

Believe it or not, a majority of people can't.

So I'll just give it to you straight - if you're having challenges with a number of people you need to understand this - that in each and every one of those situations you're ranting about, the one common denominator is you! Let's sit for a while to let that sink in.

I know you don't want to hear that because that means you'll have to take responsibility for the unpalatable situations, and let's face it, it's so much easier to blame others.

But now that you know, you can do something about it, because your current behavior isn't exactly working for you so why wouldn't you want to create a better outcome?

Imagine harnessing all that negative ranting energy and refocusing it into creating something positive? So here's what you have to do:

- get feedback from someone you trust and get them to tell it to you straight

- you'll have to observe your behavior with others and look for instances where you may not be operating at your best

- come up with strategies to improve not Becky, Morris and Ian - but YOURSELF!

Basically you have to get real with yourself. Which brings us to our second R.

** Reality

If there's a problem in your work life it most likely stems from a difference in perspective.

You think the product you offer is great, your customer doesn't; you think you excel in your work and your performance appraisal says otherwise; you believe you deserve a decent pay rise, your boss tells you the 'standard' increase is 3%.

It's time for a reality check; it's not a case of who's right or wrong. Instead be honest and courageous and identify what's really going on. Let's take the common rant of asking for a pay rise only to get knocked back because the company only offers 3% increases.

Your boss tells you that he can't give you more than the standard because it has 'always been done that way' and if he does it for you, he'll have to do it for everyone else (we've all heard that one before)

At this stage I'd be curious as to what is really going on because I haven't heard any reference to the pay rise and performance. Just to a whole bunch of unrelated excuses.

Here is where you have to do your best detective work. When you consider his response and previous behavior you begin to see a pattern - it appears he doesn't like to go to bat to support his team members - basically, he'd rather say, "No" than inconvenience himself by taking your request and fighting for it with the powers that be. Simply, he doesn't like to rock the boat.

And that's the eye-opener, this is the truth that underlies what is being said. Which brings us to our 3rd R

** Revelation

You finally see the light, in this case your pay rise has nothing to do with how long you've been with the organization, your performance, company policy or timing but everything to do with your manager's inability to manage, handout rewards and recognition and be flexible with protocol.

And now that you're clear, you can respond to the reality instead of the illusion and craft your approach so that it can on considered on your performance and not his excuses.

You decide that your strategy will be to make a list of your contributions; past, present and future, and provide actual figures on how your input positively impacted the company's bottom line.

Simply you're going present the case that you're worth more.

Now we move on to the good part, our 4th R - Your Reward.

** Reward

OK, you've ranted, you got real and you revealed what's honestly going on, it's time to be rewarded for your insights.

Let's say you present your case for a pay rise, you handle all the objections thrown at you and he agrees to give a 7% increase - fantastic, you've hit the jackpot!

But what if the opposite happens? You present your case like a pro and it becomes crystal clear that there is no way you're going to get a pay increase beyond 3% and you're miffed. Don't go back to ranting, the reasons for the big NO may not be rational, but it's the sad reality.

I can hear you asking, "Well, where's the reward in that case?"

Of course you're feeling disappointed but you should be proud that you professionally tackled the issue and communicated your needs to your boss.

And here's the silver lining, you're now really clear on where you stand within the organization and you can make decisions on whether you're happy to live with the circumstances or not.

If you're not, you can take your list of profit making contributions, add them to your resume and take your valuable self somewhere else.

Also, don't be narrow in what you consider a successful outcome, it's not just about the money and in this case there were number of rewards:

1. You took the time to identify and understand your value - that has to feel great.

2. You professionally communicated your needs - it's gratifying to have your say.

3. You took your boss' feedback and made the decision that you're going to find a new role, which pays more - because you're worth it. So it's, "Bye-bye" to the ingrates and, "Hello - shiny new job." You would never have got to that if you hadn't done what you'd done.

Knowing your value, communicating your needs and deciding to escape a situation that no longer serves is a rewarding outcome. It builds your self-esteem and makes sure you take care of #1, because if you don't take care of you, you can't be a gift to anyone else.

The next time you're up against a workplace challenge, remember that all your answers begin with 'R'.